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Girl with Plait; for the figure of Fortune
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt ARA (1833-1898)
1870s
Pencil on white paper
7 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches, 20 x 17.5 cm.
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Commentary by Hilary Morgan
This drawing is for the head of Fortune from the 1870s, showing an intermediate stage in which Burne-jones combined the elaborate plaits and the swathed head-dress from the two ideas for the figure he was considering. The present treatment of the head can be compared with the head-dresses of the Libyan and Erythraean Sybils on the Sistine ceiling. A Hollyer photograph exists of a drawing of the head of Fortune, with a very elaborately plaited hairstyle and dated 1876 (Witt Library and in the album in this catalogue, number 86, plate 65 centre left). although this date is retrospective and may be slightly inaccurate, it indicates the height of Burne-Jones's interest in fanciful hairstyles in the early and middle 1870s. Note in the present drawing the indication of Fortune's raised left arm, turning the wheel.
Bibliography
Morgan, Hilary and Nahum, Peter. Burne-Jones, The Pre-Raphaelites and Their Century. London: Peter Nahum, 1989. Catalogue number 52.
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Last modified 5 June 2020